Qualities to look out for in a good technician/mechanic.

Whenever I talk with people here in Nigeria about their experiences with mechanics, I get a lot of different stories. Most are very funny and others are hurtful as the car owner spends so much money and the problems are not solved. For example, if as a car user you’re totally clueless about your car and the car develops a fault -you’re manna to an unethical mechanic because he would rip you to the last cash you have. A repair as simple as brake shimmer noise would cost you so much because you are disgusted with noise coming from your wheels whenever you drive, the mechanic would spend about 3 hours wasting your time just to be able to charge you a lot of money while in all honestly, that job can be done in less than 15 minutes! 

You don’t need so much understanding on the state of your car at all times but then you should try to have an idea of what the problem could be or a narrative of how the situation you’re in with your car came to being.

Today is not the day to learn about your car however there are things to look out for in order to be sure your mechanic knows what he is doing, I mean there is a pattern that a mechanic should follow in understanding the problem you have with your car in a bid to fixing the problem. if you are using this guy

 

this guy

 

or this guy

Here are some of the things to look out for in a good mechanic

1.    A skilled mechanic needs to have good "critical thinking" skills plus very good "problem solving" skills, ensure that you get reviews of his work, or be sure he was recommended to you by a satisfied customer.

2.   A skilled mechanic should be able to listen carefully without interrupting you as the customer while you make your complaints or narrate the situation with your car.

3.   A skilled mechanic don’t just pulls out tools after listening to you, he confirms your complaint to be sure what you said the challenge was is actually what it is, he checks for basic things that could lead to the problem or even take a test drive to validate your complaint.

4.   After confirming the problem, a skilled mechanic reviews the overall system, running an on-board diagnosis using a scan tool if necessary, listing whatever needs to be replaced and giving you the cost breakdown of the repairs.

5.   After agreement has been done, a skilled mechanic goes ahead with the repairs and keeps to time while keeping you updated on the progress of the work. If there would be any need to go beyond or below the agreed cost, you should be given a heads up.

6.   After all repair work is done, a skill mechanic will do a test drive to confirm that the complaint of the customer has been treated. Afterwards, he delivers the car to you – the customer.

We all deserve good services from our car technicians since we are not asking for free service, keep your eyes peeled for these qualities, be MOTOSMART!